De-Centering the Organism: Psychedelic Therapies, Fungi and the Body without Organs

The encounter of clinical psychology with psychedelic compounds, plants, and mushrooms opens new possibilities for psychotherapy. Drawing on Gilles Deleuze and Félix Guattari's schizoanalysis, the concept of the Body without Organs—derived from Antonin Artaud's peyote experience—is central. This philosophical question involves an ethical, aesthetic, and political task, dissociating psychology from neuroscience tied to the organic body. By revisiting the anatomophysiological paradigm through Foucault's analyses of disciplinary power and biopower, rigid definitions of the body are questioned, broadening experience to include other narratives. Psychedelic experience involves an intensive body as force, with mushrooms acting as intermediaries that deconstruct fixed forms of subject and body, while the decentralized mycelium unfolds new possibilities. Implications for therapies require caution and awareness of risks.

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Abstract

The encounter of clinical psychology with psychedelic compounds, plants, and mushrooms opens up new possibilities for psychotherapy practices. In the Schizoanalysis of Gilles Deleuze and Félix Guattari, conceptual and experimental tools are found that not only assist in thinking about the psychedelic experience but also enrich clinical practice. The concept of the Body without Organs, which partly stems from Antonin Artaud’s psychedelic experience with peyote in the Mexican deserts, is central to this approach. The philosophical question of “how to create for oneself a Body without Organs?” involves an ethical, aesthetic, and political task. A shift is proposed, dissociating psychology from the neuroscience linked to the organic body, body-form, reified in the image of the organism. By revisiting the anatomophysiological paradigm, based on Foucault's analyses of disciplinary power and biopower, rigid definitions of the body are questioned, and the field of experience is broadened to include other possible narratives and decompositions. The psychedelic experience is not limited to the organic body, but involves an intensive body, body as force. Psychedelic mushrooms can act as powerful intermediaries, deconstructing fixed forms of subject and body, while the mycelium, decentralized and non-binary, unfolds new possibilities. The implications for psychedelic therapies must be approached with caution and awareness of the risks, as Deleuze and Guattari warn. Presenting a framework that shifts the focus away from human-centered views, capturing the “humusity” of Donna Haraway, a fertile ground is proposed for new narratives and fabulations, where mycelium, rhizomes and seeds can thrive in the folds.